of Martial Arts and Pink
by Goku's Donut
Summary: "Dude! That's my Dad's best friend's daughter!" And yet ... (A Goten/Marron story) [Hiatus]
1. Chapter 1

Donuts here with _another_ story! This time, it's not Goku/Chi-Chi! - _gasp_ - That's right, this time it's Marron/Goten, a pairing that I've recently taken a liking to (as well as Pan/Uub, but that's for another time, lol). Bathhouse Blues is still being worked on, and I promise you all that I'm working on Just Married, okay? This is 7 years after the end of DBZ so Goten is 24, Trunks is 25, Marron is 20, etc. :)

Disclaimer: Dragonball, Dragonball Z, and Dragonball GT are (c) Akira Toriyama and Toei. This is amateur fiction, strictly for fun and nonprofit, and will be removed upon the copyright holder's request (courtesy of Sholio).

...

"I'm sorry, Goten."

_Oh, no, don't be sorry. If there's anyone who should be apologizing, it's me._

"You're a really sweet person and I appreciate _everything_ you've done for me!"

_Then why are you breaking up with me? Was it something I said, did? Something I didn't say? Should've said? Didn't do? Should've done?_

"But …, I'm in love with someone else."

_Oh, right._

Had it not been for the fact that his mother raised him to respect the opposite sex, he would've stopped her before she had the chance to finish her first sentence. Goten felt his stomach drop. He wouldn't have been surprised if it dropped out his butt. He_ wasn't_ surprised though, not anymore. This was like an everyday thing now, a ritual. Meet a girl, take her out, spoil her - give her the _world_ even! - then … well, you know the rest.

Love? Goten almost rolled his eyes. What would she know? Love is what he did for her. He showered her with it, even though he had no more love to give. She'd crushed what little he had left of it with her fake laughter, deceitful smiles, and empty promises. All those red flags; he'd seen all of 'em! He knew she was a liar the moment she approached him, but his optimism got the best of him, and his naivete blinded him. It almost made him laugh, albeit a bitter one. And yet, there wasn't anyone to blame but himself.

With a deep sigh, Goten rubbed a hand through his hair, pushing what little snowflakes that'd landed in it out, and tossed her an awfully large grin. He wanted to be bitter. He wanted to be mean. He wanted her to feel like shit. He wanted her to feel _exactly_ what he was feeling. Every inch of his being wanted to shake some sense into her, but with his monstrous strength he'd crush her before he had the chance to do anything. It wasn't in his nature to cause harm anyway.

And yet …

"It's not you, it's me," he said, earning a confused look from her, Angela. Or was it Violet? Jessica, maybe? It didn't matter. She was just like them. Hard to please, easy to see through.

"But, Goten-"

He held a hand up, cutting her off before she could finish, and ground it back into his coat pocket for warmth. Quietly, he sunk deeper into his scarf, averting his gaze.

"I should've seen this coming, but I didn't and I allowed you to manipulate me. But that's okay, because it's me, not you," Goten's voice carried, half-amused, half-bitter as his breath, visible in the winter air, evaporated into nothingness.

The sound of his boots crunched against the snow beneath his feet as he moved past her, hands buried in his pockets. "Erika, right?"

The girl frowned, fists curling at her sides as she corrected him heatedly. "It's Brittney, asshole! We've been dating for almost a month!"

"_Right_," Goten laughed, shaking his head as if it were common sense. "_June_," he _corrected_, fanning his hand, "keep the necklace. On second thought, keep everything. They were cheap anyway (_just like you_, he thought). And by the way," he said, ignoring her scowl as he looked her up and down with an appalled frown.

Ankle-length boots, tights, mini-skirt, turtle-neck sweater, and a necklace - his clothes, his jewelry, his _everything_; she was wearing everything he'd bought her! At least the last girl that dumped him had the decency to wear _some_ Capsule Corp. fashion.

"What?" Brittney asked smugly, crossing her arms as she leaned on one leg. "Realized your mistake? Finally come to your senses, Go-_ten_?" the red-head bit out.

"As a matter of fact, I have," he answered with his patented smile, causing one to flourish on her face. "You aren't Trunks' type," he deadpanned, biting back any remark or laughter he had when he saw the color drain from her face. He had nothing left to say as he ground his heels into the snow, tossing Christie a mock salute before blasting off in a spark of energy, hoping to Dende that the snow from his takeoff (or at least _some_ of it) caught her as he blended in with the white of winter.

He almost felt sorry for Michelle. Goten shivered.

Today was gonna be a _long_ day.

...

Note: If anyone's confused about the girl's name, it is _Brittney_. Goten's calling her by so many names because she reminds him of the countless other girls he's dated in the past. He cared about her, but after learning that she was only using him to get to Trunks (like the other girls), he started calling her by their names. Hope that makes sense. And I was attempting to add humor, because I felt bad for breaking my baby's heart.


	2. Chapter 2

I'm swamped with finals, okay? I know Disney and Land Before Time aren't canon, but let's hope that doesn't take away the enjoyment. The story is a slow-moving one, but things should start picking up by the 4th chapter. As much as I didn't like how this chapter turned out, I hope you like it. :)

...

"Has anyone ever told you that you're an asshole, Trunks?" Goten had asked once he heard the front door to their apartment close. His eyes were focused on the television set in front of him, facial expression as blank as the color white while he watched the awfully high-pitched dinosaurs with growing disinterest.

Trunks, having just hung his coat on the rack next to the front door, quirked an eyebrow as he made his way to the kitchen, where he snatched a beer bottle from the refrigerator and popped it open. He paid no heed to the cap that fell to the floor, too tired to do anything other than drink. And that was exactly what he did, flipping on the light switch connected to the living room as he made his way towards that area of his apartment. He twisted his mouth in mild amusement, cradling his beer bottle between his fingers while he allowed his gaze to fall on the 24-year-old bundled up in a comforter on the couch.

"Plenty of times," Trunks answered coolly, whistling at the pile of empty potato chip bags and soda cans strewn across the floor. "Namely by you and Dad."

"Well, allow me to say it again: you're an asshole."

Trunks clicked his tongue, preparing himself to fire back at his best friend, but when he saw the box full of DVDs near his feet marked with the words "Land Before Time Collection - Property of Son Goten", he caught himself. "_Oh_," he mouthed, his expression softening when Goten's eyes narrowed. Quietly, the elder hybrid strode across the room, ignoring the rattle of plastic bags and cans against his feet as he took a seat on the couch next to Goten.

Goten almost scooted to the other end of the couch, but he was in too much of a foul mood to do so. Instead, he wrapped his covers tighter around himself, blocking the half-Saiyan's view of him. For a long time, Trunks and Goten sat with their eyes trained on the television, images of three-horns and long-necks going back and forth flashing across the screen. Trunks was more than tempted to take a swig of his beer, anything to make this children's movie more interesting than what it already wasn't, but he didn't want to run a risk of doing something that'd garner a physical fight like the one he was watching between the characters.

_Littlefoot? Cera? Ducky?_ Trunks thought, his eye twitching ever so slightly in disdain as he wondered just what in Dende's name went through Goten's head when he popped this DVD in. But then he remembered that it was a coping mechanism for the demi-Saiyan, something he'd been doing for a _very_ _long_ _time_, ever since they entered into their junior and senior years of high school to be precise.

Trunks remembered asking about it the moment he'd seen a box of videos, eyebrows drawn together in bewilderment as jokes, some that'd last a lifetime, whisked around his brain.

"You have your hobbies, I have mine. Not everyone can go around spendin' money all willy-nilly just 'cuz they had what _you_ call '_a bad day_'," Goten had said, fighting down his growing embarrassment as he turned the volume up on the television, tuning out his best friend's infuriating laughter.

It was something Goten never outgrew, and over the years, Trunks found this to be a frequent thing. Whenever Goten was having a rough day, he'd resort to watching videos, namely his extensive collection of classic Disney films. Different moods called for different collections, and as Trunks allowed his eyes to drift to the peeling brown cardboard box that harbored Goten's movies, he couldn't help but think that something _extremely_ bad had happened.

Trunks swished his bottle around, tilting his head to gain a better view of his friend. "What happened to Brittney?" he immediately asked, knowing full well that it had something to do with his girlfriend.

"You mean Hillary?" Goten quipped.

"I see," Trunks said, resting his elbows on his knees. "Code L.C.?"

"More like Code _S.T.F.U_ and _G.T.H._," Goten grumbled, shifting in his seat. He heard Trunks take a swig of his drink and sighed. Okay, maybe that _was_ a little harsh. "Ya know, I like to think I was blessed with good looks and a beautiful personality," he said, clasping his hands and batting his eyelashes at Trunks as he leaned against his shoulder with a dazzling smile.

Trunks snorted. "Aren't you? Because _I_ for one think you're one of the most _beautiful_ people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

Goten's face fell. "Again, I like to _think_ that. Which is why I find it more than a little odd that my relationships can't seem to last more than a month," he grunted, pulling back and facing the television again.

Once again, silence took over, leaving Goten and Trunks to listen to a musical number by Littlefoot and his friends. Funny, Trunks actually found himself tapping his foot to the music. Maybe that beer really _was_ working, because any other time he'd find _any_ movie that Goten took the time to watch when he was in one of his "moods" annoying as _shit_.

"I broke it off with Cecelia," Goten finally said.

Trunks quirked a brow. "I thought her name was Hillary?"

"No. Her name was Jamie," Goten shot gruffly, his voice filled with annoyance.

"Ya know, sooner or later you're gonna have to start calling these girls by their proper names. It's unhealthy."

Goten snorted. "Says the man who can't remember a girl's name after having slept with her on more than one occasion."

"Hey! That was _one_ time and I was _drunk_!" Trunks defended. "What'd you _expect_ me to do?! Ask her to _write_ it down!?" Goten rolled his eyes, bending over to snag a bag of Doritos.

"That'd be nice, wouldn't it?" he asked, crunching on a chip and looking his best friend right in the eye.

Trunks smiled. "I hope you know you can't get drunk off soda."

"Who says I'm trying to get drunk?" Goten questioned, taking another loud bite into a potato chip.

"I think you should. It's certainly a helluva lot better than watching this shit you call movies," Trunks said, gesturing to the box of DVDs on the floor.

"It's a lot better than gaining a brain aneurysm trying to remember what I did last night too," Goten retorted.

"But that's the best part!" Trunks exclaimed with a grin, finishing the last of his beer. "Besides, wouldn't you like to forget about Jamie?"

Goten's eyes softened, and he shrugged. "There's a lot of things I wanna forget, Trunks."


	3. Chapter 3

I'm kinda pleased with this chapter, and I'm beginning to like this story a lot more than anything I've ever written, because I like Goten a lot. I promise to try and update everything else, so bear with me. I don't like forcing out anything. I promise that Maron will appear in the next chapter. I'm hoping for humor. ;D

...

"I thought I was doin' you a favor by lettin' you live with Trunks, but it's _painfully_ obvious that it was the single most _worst_ idea I've ever done. What were you _thinkin_'?! Drunken fist fightin', puttin' holes in _walls_? I expect this kinda wild behavior out of your father and that _Vegeta_, but _you_? I thought I raised you better 'an that, Son Goten," Chi-Chi ranted, hacking angrily at an onion before sliding its contents into a boiling pot of soup.

As Chi-Chi continued to lay into Goten the "fierce talking to" that he was hoping _desperately_ to avoid, the hybrid bit back a groan as he lay his head on the table, cradling his mug of hot cocoa with one hand as he tightened his grip on his head with the other. Goku sat next to him, eyes darting between his wife and his youngest son as he bit into a piece of toast, light crumbs dusting the edges of his mouth.

"Go easy on 'em, Chi," Goku said between mouthfuls of jellied toast. "I'm sure it was all just an accident."

Chi-Chi slammed her ladle on the counter as she shot her angry gaze towards her husband, causing him to jump. "You call _this_ an _accident_?!" she practically roared, sliding Goku her recently attained newspaper.

Goku looked down, his expression as lax as his posture. "A Hole in the Wall: _Coincidence_ or _Assassination Attempt_?" it read in big, bold letters and underneath its title was a photo of his son's and best friend's apartment building in West City with a hole the size of a dinosaur.

"I don't know," he relented slowly, looking to Goten, whose chocolate brown eyes were giving him a pleading look. "I still say it was an accident."

Chi-Chi huffed, running a tired hand through her graying hair. "Did you even _read_ the article, Goku?"

"Chi-Chi… I _can't_ read," he replied, bringing his cup of cocoa to his lips to hide his growing smile. He winked at Goten, who, in turn, smiled back before drinking from his own cocoa.

"_Fine_," she snapped. "If that's the game you wanna play, then so be it! I'm gettin' too old for this," she grumbled angrily. Chi-Chi marched from the kitchen and into the living area, poking and prodding around the room in search for the remote. Maybe a little television would help ease her mood. Honestly, it was as if Goku conspired against her whenever their children horsed around. Goten was an adult now, a _24-year-old adult_ who should, at some point in his life, grow up! Gohan certainly never acted this way; although, Chi-Chi knew deep down inside that it was only a result of her eldest growing up _way_ before his time.

"Thanks, Dad," Goten mumbled, sitting up straight once his mother was out of earshot. He stared at his reflection in his drink. "For a second there, I thought she was gonna start comparing me to _Gohan_ again."

Goku smiled, turning to look at his wife, who'd practically turned the living room upside down in her search. "Ah, don't mind your mom. She's just cranky, 'cuz she got that phone call from Bulma early this mornin'. She ain't get much sleep last night… somethin' 'bout her "motherly instincts on an all-time high". I don't know," he trailed off with a shrug, chugging the rest of his cocoa in one swell gulp.

Goten almost sighed out of relief. For a second there, he thought his dad was going to say more than intended. Winter never did his visits home any good. On more than one occasion, he'd caught the…_ off-balance_ of his parents' ki, which only ever stood for one thing. Imagining them doing anything out of his comfort zone was almost as scary as his "uncle" being nice. It was gross.

"Hey," Goku called, catching his son's attention as he stood from the table. "Let's go outside."

"But, I thought you _hated_ the cold?" Goten questioned, pushing his cocoa to the side. It was starting to cool.

"I do," he agreed, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin. "But, we wouldn't wanna get in trouble for stealin' the remote, now would we?" he asked, pulling it from behind his back. Goten opened his mouth to speak, to ask his father how in the _world_ he knew his mother would search for it (or how he'd gotten it in the first place), but he immediately closed it with a shake of his head, pushing away from the table.

_It'll be our secret,_ the Saiyan sent him telepathically with a round of laughter, placing the remote on the table.

…

"So, wanna tell me what _really_ happened?" Goku finally asked, balancing his axe on his right shoulder. He knew just as much as the next person that he could easily chop down a tree with just the tip of his finger, something he'd done on numerous occasions, but these days, he'd been opting for more… _primitive_ ways of doing things. It took more time, yes, but it gave him a challenge.

Goten shoveled some snow with his boot, sinking into his scarf. "Well, it _was_, like you said, an accident," Goten said with an awkward laugh. "A really _big_ accident."

Goku hummed, but a smile found its way on his lips. "Well, how 'bout that… Don't worry though, Goten. It'll all work out."

"How do you know that?" Goten asked, digging his hands into his pockets.

Goku shrugged. "I don't."

Goten almost threw a snowball at his father's head, but he knew that the Saiyan was only trying to cheer him up. It was working, that much he knew, but for what it was worth, he _really_ hoped his father was right.

Last night, he'd gotten into a fight with Trunks. Normally, their fights would consist of its usual, playful banter. Name-calling and small rounds of slap-boxing were an everyday thing for them. Goten blamed it on the alcohol. Somehow, Trunks' nitpicking had gone a little too far, making things 10x worse than they already were, and because Goten was pissed at his friend for seducing majority of his past girlfriends, their usual name-calling had turned into an all-out brawl, resulting in more than just damaged property. Goten knew just as well as Trunks that it wasn't his fault, but he hadn't cared then. While Goten certainly regretted the event, he had no intentions of apologizing to him just yet, if at all.

His pride wouldn't allow it, and he was afraid that if he saw the young prince again, they'd end up in another fist fight, which lead him to Mount Paozu. While he certainly _had _no intentions of being home, he needed to get away from West City. Capsule Corp. was a definite no, and as much as he wanted to go to Gohan's house, he couldn't bring himself listen to another one of his brother's "I-told-you-so" lectures and he definitely couldn't deal with that overbearingly nosy niece of his. Certainly, his mother was no different from Gohan in that aspect, but at least there was his father.

Although Goku was, by no means, the perfect candidate to run to unless there was a global crisis afoot, he certainly knew how to lighten a person's mood, and for that, Goten was extremely thankful.

"Dad?" Goten called out, just before Goku took a swing at a tree. Pausing in his task, Goku turned to give his son his full attention, eyebrows drawn together. "Can we train?"

Goku grinned from ear to ear, embedding his axe into the trunk. "I thought you'd _never_ ask."


End file.
